In Willow and Tara's dorm room, an exhausted Willow asks Tara
for a
story. Inspired by Miss Kitty Fantastico, Tara tells a story about a
cat at a pound, and the story ends with Tara and Willow snuggling on
the bed. Tara asks, "Do you think Buffy found out anything tonight?"
In a dark Summers home, Buffy tells Giles about Dawn's supernatural
origin, of which Dawn is totally unaware. They also discuss Joyce's
illness and Buffy's father's lack of participation in the family. Buffy
stresses that she will take care of Dawn and Joyce and declares that it
would be safer for everyone if they keep Dawn's true nature a secret.
Glory arises from the rubble of the warehouse and declares, "Okay, now
I'm upset."
The Scooby Gang moves Buffy out of her dorm room. Tara tries making a
joke, but it's so intellectual that even Giles doesn't get it, making
Tara feel even more alienated from the group. While Tara takes a load
to the car, Willow reminds the group of Tara's birthday surprise party
at the Bronze the next night.
At the hospital, Ben the intern talks with another intern about the
rash of mental patients checking in. Ben goes to the locker room to
leave for the day, when a Lei-Ach demon, with a tongue that would rival
Gene Simmons, is about to attack. Glory stops the demon, stating, "I
need a favor."
At the Magic Box, Anya shows great enthusiasm for her work, while
Xander and Buffy discuss Tara's party and their difficulty finding a
gift. The gang is having similar bad luck finding information on Glory.
Buffy complains of getting a headache trying to think of everything, so
Xander suggests she go a few rounds in the training room.
Scene shift to Spike and Buffy fighting. "You want me, Slayer, come and
get me." "Oh, I'm coming right now." Buffy says. Back in reality, Spike
"comes" with Harmony, then lies that he was thinking only of her.
Back in the Magic Box, Giles asks if Buffy and Xander are making any
progress, and the two make suggestions that have nothing to do with
information on Glory. They're talking about gifts for Tara; they don't
know what to buy her. "You're in a magic shop, and you can't think what
Tara would like?" As the discussion digresses, a hick of a man asks
them questions about the spell books on the table when Tara and Willow
enter. Tara introduces the Scooby Gang to her big brother Donny who's
in town for her birthday. She's not happy to see him.
Tara's father enters, and he's got the Puritan scowl down pat. Tara
hugs her dad timidly and refers to him as "Sir" (bad sign). The family,
which includes Cousin Beth, makes dinner plans before the breath of icy
air leaves the magic shop.
At the Summers house, Riley informs Buffy that he has unpacked for her,
for which she is very grateful. When Dawn tries to go to a neighbor's
house for dinner, Buffy refuses to let her go. Buffy is in
hyper-overprotective mom mode. Riley knows there's more going on, but
Buffy refuses to inform him. He leaves, "You've got a lot on your mind.
When you decide to let me in on any of it, let me know. (sarcastically)
I'll come running."
When Tara enters her dorm room, she finds her disapproving father there
complaining of all the witchcraft stuff around the room. "You don't
even try to hide it anymore." When they talk about "what's going to
happen," he informs Tara that he's taking her home because of the evil
inside of her. When she insists that her power doesn't feel evil, he
rebuts, "Evil never does." He leaves saying, "Your family loves you,
Tara, no matter what. How do you think your friends are gonna feel when
they see your true face?"
In Glory's overstuffed closet, the Lei-Ach demon finally awakes. She
informs him that she wants him to take care of the girl who has been
giving her problems. When he informs Glory that she's been fighting the
Slayer, Glory orders the demon to find and kill her.
Willow informs Tara of another meeting of the Scooby Gang, and Tara
declines to go, saying that so much is going on. She suggests that
Willow give her a progress report in the morning. Willow agrees,
saying, "We'll be demon hunters" as she leaves. Tara scours her spell
books.
Giles gives the group an update at the Magic Box. During the meeting,
Tara — hidden in the training room — casts a spell on the Scooby Gang.
At Willy's Place, the bartender (not Willy) tells a patron that he
shouldn't be coming there. The camera shows Riley, who claims he "comes
for the ambiance." A gorgeous woman named Sandy sits next to him and
starts to flirt with him, but he informs her that "my heart belongs to
another. Besides, I don't go out with vampires; they're never
interested in my intellect." Sandy is noticeably annoyed with Riley.
Harmony returns to the crypt to tell Spike of her wonderful stealing
spree at April Fool's. While out, she heard gossip that a Lei-Ach Demon
was recruiting his brethren to kill the Slayer. Spike decides to go get
a decent seat to watch the Slayer die.
Cousin Beth meets up with Tara on campus, and Beth berates Tara for not
going home to take care of her father and brother. When Beth finds out
that Tara cast a spell so her friends wouldn't see the demon part of
her, Beth threatens to tell Tara's dad.
A knock is heard on the magic shop door. Willow answers it thinking it
is Tara, but she sees no one there — not even the three demons waiting
outside the door.
Beth says she's going to tell Tara's father about the spell. Beth is
sure that Tara' father will tell her friends about her demon side, and
thinks that Tara should tell them first.
The demons are happily surprised that the Scooby Gang can't see them.
One of them goes into the training room, where Buffy is hitting the
punching bag. She hears one of the demons growl, and starts to fight
her invisible foe. Hearing the struggle, Xander leaps up to help, but
is stopped in the doorway by another invisible demon. Fighting ensues,
and Giles hides Dawn under a desk. Spike arrives to watch. Seeing Buffy
in trouble, he starts to enjoy the scene, but soon steps in to help
her. After that demon is taken care of, Buffy gets up to go into the
shop area. Spike says, "You're welcome," as he fights a second demon,
but Buffy can't see either of them. Tara enters the shop, and sees the
group struggling to fight a demon they cannot see. She warns Buffy when
the third demon is about to strike, then reverses her spell to help
them fight. Tara's dad enters the shop as the fight is concluded, and
informs the group that Tara is a demon, and he's taking her, because
she belongs with her family. Willow, though baffled, doesn't want to
let Tara go, and asks her if she wants to leave. Dad presses a tearful
Tara, but Buffy intervenes. "If you want to take her Mr. Maclay, you
gotta come through me." "And me." Dawn adds. The whole Scooby Gang —
minus Spike — backs up Tara. When the cousin says, "I hope you'll be
happy hanging around with a disgusting demon," Anya asks, "What kind?"
The family doesn't know or care — evil is evil. Spike finally says,
"Why don't we make this simple?" and hits Tara. Tara and Spike are both
in pain. No demon exists in Tara; it was just a family legend to keep
the women in line. The family finally leaves at Tara's insistence.
Tara's birthday party in the Bronze is a blast. Xander buys drinks and
makes goo-goo eyes with Anya. Tara loves the crystal ball from Giles,
and Dawn presents her with a new broom. Riley shows up, to Buffy's
pleasure. When a slow song comes on, Willow asks Tara to dance. During
the slow rhythms, Tara confesses that she wasn't sure Willow would like
her if Willow met her family. Seeing how far Tara has evolved from her
family makes Willow proud of her and love her more. The two embrace as
they dance and float in the air.
Buffy is on the job at one of the several cemeteries in Sunnydale. She
is fighting a vampire with her usual repartee. When she pulls out her
stake for the killing blow, the vamp turns the tables and the stake on
her and impales her abdomen.
Stunned, Buffy pulls the stake out and drops it. The vamp picks it up
and is about to strike her again when Riley shoves him out of the way.
The two struggle, and the vamp flees. Riley wants to chase the vamp,
but he sees Buffy falling and goes to her. She faints in his arms.
Riley patches Buffy up in her bedroom. She's concerned that he thinks
she's a wimp, but he knows much better than that — until he finds out
she was injured by single, normal vampire. Dawn barges into the room to
warn them that mom is coming into the room. Buffy doesn't want mom to
know that she's injured, so Dawn covers nicely as Riley is trying to
hide the first aid equipment. Buffy shows Dawn the wound, which Dawn
thinks is cool. Buffy asks Dawn to help with the household chores, and
Riley offers to take patrol that night. Buffy asks him to take the
Scooby Gang with him.
That night, Riley is stealthily leading Anya, Xander, and Willow, who
are all eating chips, through the cemetery. When Xander bellows out,
Riley suggests they split up. But the group still follows Riley,
commenting on his coolness.
Buffy and Giles are going through the watchers' diaries looking for
more information on the deaths of previous Slayers. Buffy is concerned
about slipping up last night, and wants to know more about her
predecessors last battles. Unfortunately, the watchers didn't write
down much about these final fights because, according to Giles, the
watcher finds the death of a Slayer rather painful. Buffy needs
information, so she goes to the only person she knows who witnessed the
death of a Slayer.
Buffy attacks Spike in his crypt and orders him to tell her how he
killed two Slayers.
Over a beer at the Bronze, Buffy strikes a deal with Spike. She'll pay
him cash to tell her how he did it. The fights weren't about the moves,
he says, and he negotiates chicken wings as part of the deal. Spike
soon realizes why she wants to know — she's injured. Spike reacts with
his normal lack of tact, and Buffy asks, "Were you born this big a pain
in the ass?" Spike claims he's always been bad.
Flashback to London 1880. William is a British gentleman composing
poetry at a party. He sees Cecily, the object of his adoration and his
poetry. Another partygoer asks William about recent attacks in the
area, and William admits that he doesn't concern himself with such
brutish matters; they are police business. He concerns himself with
creating things of beauty, so someone grabs his poetry and reads it
aloud. As the group laughs we hear the true origin of the nickname
"William the Bloody," given because his poetry is so bloody awful.
William finally retrieves his poetry and goes to the couch where Cecily
is seated. At her questioning, he admits to her that his poetry is
about her and that he loves her. She is disturbed and says that she can
never love him: "You're beneath me." William is stunned.
William leaves the party in a huff, tears up the poetry, and
accidentally brushes up against a dark stranger out in the street.
Drusilla seeks out William, who is crying in an alley. She finds him
dashing, and she offers to unleash his imagination. When he accepts,
she makes him a vampire. He's quite pained by the bites and screams
"Ow!" several times.
Back in the present, Riley et al find the vamp that hurt Buffy. They
follow the vamp to a crypt full of a nest of vampires, and the Scoobies
decide to take it at daybreak.
Spike continues his (version of the) tale to Buffy while playing pool
at the Bronze. After being made a vampire, he decided to live by his
own rules rather than society's. However, he needed a gang. In England
of the past, Angelus is holding William by the throat. William declares
his name is Spike. Angelus, Drusilla, and Darla are angry with Spike
because his carelessness makes them run. Angelus and Spike fight, and
although Angelus gets the upper hand, he lets Spike go. "If I can't
teach you, maybe someday an angry crowd will. That, (he laughs) or the
Slayer." Spike wonders what a Slayer is.
Present, Bronze: Spike tells Buffy of his obsession with the Slayer and
how to kill her. A vampire has nothing to fear, except the Slayer.
China, 1900, Boxer Rebellion: Spike is fighting the current Slayer,
while outside, the surrounding village is burning, and the villagers
are fleeing. Spike gets the upper hand and after he strikes the killing
blow, he drinks a long drought from her neck. As the Slayer dies, she
says (in Chinese), "Tell my mother I'm sorry." Spike replies, "Sorry,
Love. I don't speak Chinese."
Drusilla enters and sees that Spike has killed a slayer. He refers to
the Slayer's blood as a powerful aphrodisiac and gives some to
Drusilla. They make love near the dead Slayer's body as the village
burns.
Outside, Darla is walking with Angel. Drusilla informs them of Spike's
success, and Angel gloomily congratulates him. When Drusilla smells
fear in the area, Angel wants to leave because of the reek. The four
stalk away as the village burns.
Back in the Bronze, Spike comments that it was the best night of his
life. Buffy is disgusted that he got off on it, but Spike is surprised
to discover that she doesn't get off on killing his kind. Spike tries
to point out the futility of her work because there is only one of her,
and there are hundreds of thousands of his kind all looking for the
same thing: one good day. The lesson isn't over, though.
A lone Riley walks dazedly back to the crypt full of vamps even though
it is still night. He stakes the vamp that injured Buffy, but he knows
he can't take on the entire nest. So he takes out a hand grenade, pulls
the pin, and leaves the vamps inside to burn.
Outside the Bronze, Spike takes Buffy through a blow-by-blow
re-enactment of his battle with a slayer that took place aboard a New
York subway train in 1977. As the scene flips back and forth between
New York of the past and Sunnydale of the present, Spike explains that
it's not a question of how did he win, but how did the slayer lose.
Buffy doesn't understand the difference, so Spike shows her. Spike, all
punked-out like a junior Billy Idol, fights a young black woman wearing
a long black coat just like the one Spike wears in modern times. He
refers to fighting with both the past and present slayers as dancing.
Spike claims all Slayers are haunted by the same bloody question, "Is
this the day I'm going to die?" He continues to explain that part of
the Slayer wants to die, to end the fighting. Buffy has lasted so long
because of her ties to her family and her friends in the Scooby Gang,
but the truth is that every Slayer has a death wish. As Spike says
this, he kills the Slayer of the past and takes her jacket. When Buffy
is ready to die, Spike will be there to have himself another good day.
"Here endeth the lesson," he decrees. Buffy orders him out of her
sight, but he taunts her instead. Then he tries to kiss her. Bewildered
by his action, she pushes him down and says, "It would never be you,
Spike. You're beneath me." She throws the money at him and walks away.
He picks the money up and starts to cry. Then he gets angry.
Spike digs in a trunk in his crypt and takes out a shotgun.
Although Harmony tries to talk him out of it, Spike is determined to
kill the Slayer. When he storms out of the crypt, Spike hears
Drusilla's voice instead. "Why can't you kill her?"
South America, 1998: Whenever Drusilla looks at Spike, all she sees is
the Slayer around him. They argue, and Drusilla's date — a demon with
antlers and a lot of slime — leaves the scene.
Back at home, Joyce is packing and confesses to Buffy that she has to
spend the night at the hospital for observation and a CAT scan. Joyce
reassures Buffy that she'll be fine because even if they find
something, it's still early.
Buffy heads out to the back porch for a good cry. Spike comes up to her
brandishing the shotgun, but when he sees her tears, he softens.
"What's wrong?" he asks. She doesn't want to talk about it, so he asks
if there's something he can do. When she doesn't respond, he sits
beside her and puts his hand on her shoulder in comfort.
Joyce enters the CAT scan machine while Buffy and Dawn wait in the
waiting room. Dawn asks what a CAT scan is and wonders where the "cat"
part comes from. Buffy doesn't know and is starting to get irritated,
but softens and comforts Dawn instead.
Giles shows his ad in the new yellow pages to Tara at the Magic Box.
When Xander, Anya, and Willow show up, Xander is complaining that Riley
recklessly attacked a vampire den all by himself. The conversation
turns to research about Glory, and Xander suspects she's lying low in
some sewer or condemned church or rat-infested warehouse — the usual
haunts.
In reality, Glory is staying in a posh apartment, where Dreg, a lowly
demon dressed in monk's robes, offers her a spell amongst his insipid
praises for her. She confirms with him that the spell will work because
if it doesn't, she'll have to kill him. Dreg assures Glory that the
spell will work provided she has the materials to work the spell. She
rips Giles' ad out of the yellow pages to go shopping.
As Riley approaches the Summers home, he notices the door is open. He
finds a heavy blanket and hears a noise coming from upstairs. In
Buffy's room, he catches Spike sniffing her sweaters. Riley forcibly
escorts Spike to the front door where Spike protests that Buffy
wouldn't mind him being there. After all, Spike spent the better part
of last night with Buffy. Besides, Willow has done two spells in recent
history to bar vampires from the house. How come Buffy hasn't had
Willow do the spell for Spike? Spike insists that he is more Buffy's
type rather than Riley. Riley insists that he's what Buffy needs.
Spikes then asks why Riley isn't at the hospital — Joyce is there for
more tests. Riley tosses Spike out in the daylight.
Buffy is pacing outside a hospital room door. Riley appears, stating he
just heard. Buffy asks him to sit with Dawn while Buffy goes in to be
with Joyce. In the hospital room full of CAT scan pictures, Joyce tells
Buffy that she has to have surgery in two days. The doctor found a
shadow on Joyce's brain, and the surgery is a biopsy to figure out
exactly what the shadow is.
The Scooby gang keeps researching while business as usual goes on at
the Magic Box. Tara suggests that whatever they're fighting might be
very old, perhaps even older than written language. Giles is intrigued,
because if no record of this demon exists, they can't determine where
she'll turn up next. He turns around to find himself face-to-face with
the demon that we know is named Glory, who is there to purchase items.
Because neither Giles nor anyone in the Scooby Gang knows it's her,
Glory makes her purchase and leaves.
Riley puts his jacket over Dawn, who is asleep in a chair at the
hospital. The doctor comes out to tell Buffy bad news: Joyce has
low-grade glioma — a brain tumor.
The doctor warns Buffy that Joyce's symptoms may progress quickly: loss
of vision or appetite, lack of muscle control, mood swings. The doctor
is working to determine if the tumor is operable. The prognosis is
good: one out of every three patients turn out just fine. The doctor
asks Buffy several questions about Joyce: does she use a cell phone?
live near power lines? Buffy seems to be in shock and can't answer all
the questions. Ben the intern approaches and informs the doctor he is
needed in ICU, but Ben really just wanted to give Buffy a chance to
absorb the news. He informs Buffy that Joyce will be in recovery for
several hours, and advises Buffy to take a break. Buffy tells Riley
she's going to look for a healing spell, but Riley says that people get
sick, and he's not sure magic can help. "That attitude's not helping."
Buffy says. Riley is admonished. Buffy asks Riley to take Dawn to
school. Riley is willing to do whatever is needed, but what should he
tell Dawn about her mother? Buffy instructs him to tell her they don't
know anything yet.
Anya is going over the Magic Box's receipts when suddenly she shouts
out, "Hey!" several times. She is startled to discover that Giles sold
someone a Kohl's Amulet and Sobekium Bloodstone, and she berates him
for it. Apparently the Sobekites were an ancient Egyptian cult heavy
into dark magic, and the Kohl's Amulet was a transmogrification
conduit. Giles isn't worried, because the Sobekium transmogrification
spells were lost thousands of years ago, and the young woman to whom he
sold the items would have to have enormous power to— oh, dear lord! The
gang realizes they saw Glory, and sold her items she needs for a
powerful spell.
Instead of taking her to school, Riley takes Dawn to an amusement park.
They sit near the carousel, and Dawn talks about her tenth birthday
party, for which Joyce rented the whole carousel for just Dawn, Joyce,
and Buffy for an entire hour. Dawn's worried about Joyce not getting
better, and Riley reassures her that "Summers women are tough." Dawn
appreciates Riley being there, and feels that Buffy appreciates him,
too. Dawn tells him about how much Buffy cried when she dated Angel.
Every day seemed like the end of the world. "She doesn't get worked up
like that over you," Dawn tells Riley, but he takes it as a bad thing,
even when Dawn says, "I think you've been really good for her."
Buffy asks her friends at the Magic Box for help with finding a spell
to heal her mother. Although they are willing to try, everyone warns
Buffy that the mystical and the medical aren't meant to mix. A healing
spell could make things worse. Anya comments that they've already done
enough to make things worse. When the gang tries to cover Anya's
off-hand remark, Buffy knows something is wrong. They admit that Glory
bought an amulet and a bloodstone to conjure a monster, but Anya
determined what kind of monster Glory is going to conjure: Sobek the
reptile demon, and she's going to create it out of a cobra.
Unfortunately, they don't know what the reptile monster will do once
it's created.
Glory smashes through the glass of the cobra display in the reptile
house of the Sunnydale Zoo. She takes the cobra out and places him in a
large clay pot. Dreg hands her the amulet, and she orders him to chant.
Buffy enters as they perform the ritual, and she starts beating on
Glory. Glory soon gains the upper hand and tosses Buffy into the Cobra
display already smashed. Glory and Dreg complete the ritual, and the
cobra has grown to human size.
Buffy comes to in time to see the spawn of Sobek monster and hear Glory
give it instructions to find the Key. She slinks off before Glory
completes her orders. Sobek slithers away.
Riley seeks out Buffy at the Magic Box and is worried when he discovers
she's gone off to fight a monster by herself. Xander rebuffs Riley for
blowing up the demon nest alone. When Riley claims that was different
then what Buffy is doing now, Xander tells him that Buffy needs
something to fight, a problem to solve, and Xander doesn't know what
Riley is after. Riley takes the verbal flak, stating he's been a little
crazed, but if Buffy needs him...
Sobek searches in Sunnydale's churches for the Key.
Giles answers the Magic Box's phone, and when he hears it's Buffy at
Sunnydale Memorial, he's concerned. Buffy couldn't stop Glory, not even
slow her down. Glory's conjured a big snake thing — though not
mayor-big — and Buffy wanted to warn him about the snake. She tells him
that Dawn is coming to the magic shop after school. Dawn's fragile and
doesn't know how bad Joyce is. Buffy's at the hospital to be there when
Joyce wakes up.
In a montage of images with soft music audio, Riley is drinking at
Willy's Place, Buffy is waiting at the hospital, and Dawn is doing
homework at the Magic Box. Sandy — a beautiful female vampire — sits
next to Riley. Buffy looks on as the doctor tells Joyce of her tumor
and Joyce tries to be strong at the news. Sandy takes Riley to a
secluded spot and starts to drink from his neck, which he allows and
seems to enjoy for a few seconds, until he stakes her.
Sobek is still searching for the Key. He passes by the carousel and
smells the right scent. His eyes glow, and he heads off with
determination.
Buffy arrives at the Magic Box. Dawn rushes to her and hugs her. Dawn
asks about mom: is she awake? ("Yeah.") Can they take her home now?
("We'll see.") Buffy asks the Scooby gang about monster reptile
sightings. Willow is just reporting negative when Sobek crashes through
the window and knocks a set of shelves onto Buffy. He approaches a
screaming Dawn, then slithers back out the broken window.
Xander checks on Dawn as Buffy frees herself from the shelves. Buffy
informs Giles that, "It knows" and takes off after Sobek, who is now
slithering down the street and wreaking havoc with the denizens of
Sunnydale. Buffy runs after it, and Giles gets his car. They pursue
after Sobek in Giles' red convertible.
Glory is furious and throws shoe boxes at Dreg. She is impatient for
news from "snakey-wakey" about her Key. Apparently she is on a schedule.
Sobek bursts through a fence, and Buffy pursues him on foot grabbing a
length of chain along the way. She jumps on his back and pulls the
chain around his neck, strangling him (think Leia and Jabba the Hutt
from Return of the Jedi). Unfortunately, he was only faking his death
to get her to drop the chain. So she pulverizes him with punches until
long after he is dead. The camera pans up from the dead snake being
punched by Buffy to the lush building where Glory is waiting. Very
close.
At the hospital, Buffy asks Joyce if she wants her to stay, but Joyce
feels she should talk to Dawn alone. Buffy exits, and Dawn enters.
Outside the hospital room, Riley, wearing a turtleneck sweater,
approaches Buffy. She buries herself in his arms, and he tells her to
let it out. But she backs away from him, telling him she can't let it
out, not now. If she starts, she won't be able to stop. Joyce calls
Buffy back into the hospital room, and Riley is left very alone in the
hall.
The Summers women are gathered in Joyce's hospital room. Joyce
complains about the hospital food, though Dawn likes the Jell-O. The
doctor enters to announce that Joyce's surgery is scheduled for the day
after tomorrow. Joyce can't bear the idea of staying in the hospital
for another two days, plus she's concerned that Buffy is missing
patrol. Buffy reassures her that Riley and the others are taking care
of patrol for her.
In the cemetery (where else?), Giles, Xander, and Willow are fighting a
couple of tackily dressed female vampires. Giles loses his glasses and
almost hits Xander. The team works together, and Willow dusts both
vamps. Afterwards, the team decries Riley for not showing up.
Riley is in a dilapidated old building, where a vampire sucks blood
from his arm.
Willow comes in with presents for the Summers women: a beer hat for
Joyce, a spell book for Dawn (more history and anecdotes rather than
actual spells), a book on history for Buffy, plus a fun yo-yo. Willow
tells Buffy of an exam on World War I, and Buffy isn't sure if she's
going to take it. Joyce blurts out that she'd rip up the test and put
it in bed with her. The others in the room are concerned about the
outburst, but Joyce then sweetly says she needs rest. The young women
leave the room, and Dawn wonders what's going on with Mom. Buffy
apologizes for not telling her earlier, but the outburst was probably a
side effect of the tumor. Suddenly a middle-aged man sees Dawn and
shouts, "There is no data here!" Naturally, Dawn is freaked, but Willow
and Buffy comfort her. Ben the intern arrives and also tries to soothe
the situation. He is annoyed because the mental ward is so overbooked
that patients with families are being sent home.
Tara and Willow are lying on a rooftop stargazing. Willow starts naming
some of the constellations, but Tara claims that the real constellation
names never made any sense to her, so she started creating some of her
own: the big pineapple, short man looking uncomfortable, moose getting
a spongebath, little pile o'crackers. Suddenly the two witness a
flaming meteor falling to Earth.
Something or someone exits the meteor and sees the mental patient that
was released from the hospital, walking in the forest near where the
meteor landed, rambling to himself. A small but ugly creature falls out
of a tree onto the man's back.
In the emergency room of Sunnydale Memorial, another patient is
admitted. Unbeknownst to anyone, the creature seen earlier crawls
across the ceiling.
Joyce is trying to use the call button on her bed, claiming vehemently
that it's not working. Buffy tries to reassure Joyce that it does
function. The doctor enters, and Buffy informs him that Joyce wants to
go home before her surgery. The doctor doesn't like the idea, but he
sees how upset Joyce is. Only if Buffy will take full responsibility
and care for Joyce will he let the elder Summers go home. Joyce is
relieved, and Buffy asks what she needs to do. The doctor starts
talking about giving medications and taking vitals, but Joyce wants to
leave now. Buffy calms her mother, convincing her to get the medication
and instructions first.
Out in the woods, Riley is glad the Scooby Gang called him in on this
one. Xander rebuffs Riley for not showing up for their last mission.
Riley apologizes as they find the meteor. When Anya warns of heat
radiation and the risk of sterility, Xander backs off, but Riley says
it's warm. The meteor is hollow, and the Scoobies theorize that
something came down to Earth. Exploring the area further, they come
across the dead body of the mental patient. Riley uses a pen to pull
goo from the deceased's mouth, and the smell is terrible. The group is
unsure about what to do, noting they can't call Buffy. Giles suggests
investigating the woods more, but Xander counters, "Who votes
research?" All the Scoobies but Riley leave. Riley prefers a good crime
scene to doing research. After the others leave, Riley calls the
military.
In the mental ward, a nurse makes her rounds, and one patient is quite
vociferous, asking her not to leave. She turns out the light, shuts the
door, and sits at her desk to do paperwork. The creature seen earlier
climbs onto the patient and spits goo onto his face.
The doctor checks Joyce out, giving Buffy emergency phone numbers and
Joyce's medications. Joyce says some weird things again, as the
creature watches her from the ceiling. Buffy starts to explain Joyce's
behavior, but the doctor understands. He tells Joyce, "We're all done
here. Why don't you take your girls home, now?" The three women are
seen leaving from the creature's point of view.
When Joyce walks in the house, the lights that are on are so bright
they hurt her eyes. Buffy and Dawn turn off the lights, and Buffy takes
Joyce upstairs.
A helicopter flies over and then lands near the meteor site. Riley
greets Major Ellis, Graham, and others. Graham jibes Riley about
calling the military rather than his girlfriend. Riley ignores him and
points out the stuff in the victim's mouth. He tells the major it's
some kind of protein alkaloid. Ellis asks if this fits the profile of
any sub-terrestrial they know of. Riley informs them it's
extra-terrestrial and should have a trace radiation signature. The
group begins to track the being with Geiger counters.
Buffy and Dawn are watching TV in the Summers living room. A
nightgown-clad Joyce walks zombie-like downstairs to the kitchen. The
girls hear noise and investigate. Joyce is making breakfast and makes
another bad remark. Buffy and Dawn take her back upstairs. None of them
notice that something is in the basement stairwell.
Buffy gives Joyce her medication. When Dawn tries to say goodnight,
Joyce rejects her, and refers to Dawn is a "thing." Buffy calms Joyce
and puts her to bed. Then she soothes Dawn who is feeling bad because
so many people have been calling her a "thing."
Xander is trying to avoid working in the astronomy section of the
university library, where the gang has gathered due to the
extra-terrestrial nature of the incident, but Giles insists. They
discover that other meteor landings have not occurred in the last week,
but have fallen throughout history. Meteoric anomalies go back to the
Queller Impact in the twelfth century. The meteor landed in Iceland,
but the name is confusing because it didn't land near any place called
Queller. Xander reads that primitive people believed the moon caused
madness, and people would pray to the moon to send a special meteor to
quell the madness. Willow finds a historical correlation between
sweeping plagues of madness stopping just after a meteor fell. Tara
points out that the Queller had to be summoned, but who summoned it?
Xander votes for Glory. The Scoobies want to call Buffy, but know they
can't. They call Riley instead.
Riley is at the mental ward of Sunnydale Memorial. Five corpses lead
him to confirm Willow's news about the Queller demon. Riley doesn't
tell her about the military involvement. He requests that if she finds
information about how to kill it, she let him know. Willow suggests
that the gang should go help him, but Riley hangs up before she
finishes the offer.
Even though she's home, Joyce's condition is worsening. She stares at
her bedroom ceiling and spouts gibberish. Across the hall, Dawn can't
bear to hear her mother's ramblings. Buffy is washing dishes in the
kitchen. She turns on the radio, and with this cover noise finally
releases her pent up tears.
Upstairs, Joyce continues her ramblings, and we see the Queller demon
just above her clinging to the ceiling.
Graham exits the hospital reading his Geiger counter. The trail of the
Queller stops in the parking lot. The demon must have hitched a ride
with a discharged patient. Riley realizes where it went and tells the
group to hurry.
The Queller demon drops from the ceiling and lands on Joyce. Dawn hears
the commotion and goes to investigate. She sees the Queller has just
spit goo on Joyce's face, and Dawn grabs a coat tree and knocks the
demon off Joyce. Dawn allows the Queller to chase her out of the room,
calling for Buffy in the process. Buffy, however, can't hear over the
radio, the running water, and her own tears. Dawn runs back into
Joyce's bedroom, shuts the door, and calls for Buffy again. The older
sister has just turned off the water and finally hears the call. She
goes upstairs, and Dawn informs her of the creature. Buffy instructs
them to stay in the room and shuts them in. The Queller drops down on
Buffy and the two fall downstairs. At the bottom of the steps, the
Queller crawls away. Joyce and Dawn try to comfort each other as Buffy
walks back into the kitchen and takes a knife. She continuously hears
the Queller and is ever-alert looking for it. Spike comes out of the
basement and asks if she heard a noise. She demands to know what he is
doing there, and he claims to be stealing stuff from her basement. When
she asks about pictures of her he's trying to hide in his pocket, Spike
is attacked by the Queller. In the commotion, the knife is knocked out
of Buffy's hand. Buffy attacks the Queller anyway, getting it off Spike
who immediately grabs the knife and tosses it to Buffy. She stabs the
Queller to death. Spike lends her a hand up, as Riley and the military
boys burst in the house. When Riley asks if Buffy is okay, she responds
by dashing upstairs. Spike informs Riley he missed a real nice time, as
Buffy informs Joyce and Dawn that the creature is gone and dead.
Ben leaves the hospital, and discovers he's not alone in his car. Dreg
is there and wants to know what Ben is doing. Why did he summon the
Queller? Ben says he's cleaning up Glory's mess — just like he's done
his whole damn life.
The day of Joyce's surgery has come, and a nurse is putting an IV into
her hand. After the nurse leaves, Joyce asks Buffy about Dawn. While
she was feeling loopy, Joyce gained a knowledge that Dawn isn't her
child. Buffy confirms this. Joyce knows that Dawn somehow belongs to
them, and that she is important and precious to the world, as precious
as Buffy is to Joyce. So Joyce asks Buffy to take care of Dawn and keep
her safe. Buffy promises. Joyce is then rolled in to surgery as Dawn,
Buffy, and the whole Scooby Gang look on.
This episode picks up exactly where the last left off: Joyce is rolled
into surgery. The whole Scooby gang waits with Buffy and Dawn, the
latter falling asleep on Riley's lap. Someone walking up to the group
turns out to be only Giles, who offers to do a snack machine run, but
no one wants anything. Willow asks Xander the time, and he points out
the clock right behind them. She points out the watch he's wearing.
Xander shows her the watch, and when Willow can't believe it's right,
she confirms with the clock behind her. Finally the doctor comes out,
looking very tired. Buffy and the gang await his words.
The doctor was able to find and remove the entire tumor. Barring any
complications during recovery, Joyce is going to be fine. The gang
celebrates with many hugs, except Giles and Xander, who decide to shake
hands instead. Buffy bear hugs the doctor and nearly squishes his
innards.
Dawn is spending the night at Xander's apartment. Although Xander tries
to say otherwise, Dawn knows she's there so that Buffy and Riley can be
alone to have sex.
At the Summers home, Riley and Buffy are slow dancing. Buffy can't
believe how relaxed she feels. Riley says it's her night. He's
impressed with how strong she's been, and comments that she didn't even
cry. She did cry, she admits, which makes Riley sad. Later the two make
love. Spike is watching outside the house. While Buffy sleeps, Riley
gets up and leaves. He doesn't notice Spike following him to a
dilapidated old building.
The next day at the hospital, Buffy is trying to convince Joyce to wear
a wig, but mom'll settle for a scarf. Joyce tells Buffy she should go
out and have fun. Buffy wants to spend the day alone with her mom to
make up for lost time.
Elsewhere, Graham and other military types confirm that a nest of
demons is present and breeding in Belize. Graham suggests to Major
Ellis that they take Riley (Agent Finn), though it might be difficult
to convince him to go. Ellis wonders what reason Riley has to stay in
Sunnydale.
Spike appears in Buffy's room, insisting that he has a good reason. He
says he's there to help her... but is she naked under her covers?
Despite her threats to throw him out the window, Spike persists that
it's something she needs to see. After she gets dressed, he takes her
to the dilapidated building he followed Riley to. There are lots of
vampires are there, but Spike warns Buffy not to slay. Buffy notices
that a lot of humans are also in the building. Spike takes her to a
room on the second floor where a vampire is sucking blood out of
Riley's arm, as he orders her to suck harder.
Buffy and Riley are stunned to see each other. Spike is pleased with
himself. When Buffy runs out of the room, Spike taunts Riley, "We're
only here because we care about you, friend." Spike goes after Buffy,
but then he sees her expression. Despite his protestation, "I thought
you should know." Spike realizes what pain he has caused. Riley runs
after them, but is stopped by one of the vampires who berates him for
leading the Slayer to their place. Riley breaks from him, but doesn't
catch up to Buffy and Spike.
A stunned Buffy slowly walks into her room and shuts the door. She
cannot believe what she has seen.
Although Riley is disturbed when he enters his apartment, he notices
Graham and Major Ellis are there. He greets them with a cheerful, "Get
out." Riley's not in the mood to talk, so Ellis orders him to listen.
They tell him about the demon nest in Belize — they want him along.
They're going to kill demons, not do experiments on them like the
Initiative. It's the real deal: high risk, low pay, and the transport
leaves tomorrow night at midnight.
Giles is proudly posting a banner in the Magic Box: "Don't forget: the
holidays are coming!" and the banner lists several holidays. No longer
a victim of crass holiday commercialization, he's now a purveyor of it.
As the group talks, Buffy bursts in and demands information on a
vampire nest downtown where humans pay to have their blood sucked.
Giles and Anya have both heard of such setups, although Giles hasn't
seen any since his Ripper days. Humans hire vampires to bite them
because it can be a rush. The vampires don't kill the humans because
they get cash, hot and cold running blood, and no bodies means no risk
of being caught. Giles didn't know about the setup here in Sunnydale,
but if he did, he wouldn't have brought it to her attention. Her time
is better spent fighting Glory, and the people going to this nest are
willing victims. Buffy persists that, "Vampires are vampires, and my
job description is pretty clear." Xander suggests waiting for Riley to
develop a strategy, but she's going with or without backup.
The building is empty of vampires despite the daylight. Buffy is
determined to find them and torches the building in her frustration.
Giles and the crew are stunned at her extreme behavior.
Spike is in his crypt drinking straight from the bottle when Riley
rushes in and stakes him.
Spike is in pain, but not dust — the stake was plastic. Riley informs
Spike that he's knows what's going on with the vampire and his feelings
for Buffy, and he warns Spike to stay away, or next time the stake will
be real. Spike laughs at Riley's jealousy. Spike tells Riley that even
if he weren't in the picture, Riley won't be able to hold on to Buffy.
Spike even goes so far as to say the girl needs a little monster in her
man, and that's not in Riley's nature. Spike is so aware of what's
going on that he even realizes he doesn't have a shot at Buffy, though
he figures a guy's gotta try. He tosses Riley the bottle he was
drinking from before Riley's entrance. As Riley drinks, Spike speaks of
his envy of Riley because Riley actually gets to touch Buffy, to hold
her in his arms, feel her beneath him — even though Riley knows he
doesn't really have her. "I'm the lucky guy." Riley says with full
sarcasm. He tosses the bottle back to Spike.
Buffy is beating the crap out of the punching bag in the training room
at the Magic Box after business hours. Xander expresses his concern
about her to Anya. "Something seriously bad is going on with her."
Riley interrupts Buffy's training saying they need to talk. Buffy
doesn't want to talk unless he wants to fight. "So let's fight." Riley
says. He knows they need to have this out, but he doesn't expect her to
understand why he let the vampires bite him. He wanted to even the
score after Dracula bit Buffy. He wanted to know why Dracula and Angel
have such power over her. He wanted to understand her more because
she's so mysterious. Buffy can't believe he's putting the blame on her.
Riley knows it's his fault. However, the vampires made him feel needed,
even if only on a physical level. He knows it wasn't real, but he
craved that feeling of being needed. Buffy realizes that she doesn't
make Riley feel needed. For Riley, whenever he is around Buffy, the
whole world falls away until only she exists. Riley believes that Buffy
doesn't feel the same. Buffy keeps him at a distance; she didn't even
call him when her mother went into the hospital. She thinks it's about
her taking care of him, but this is about Riley taking care of Buffy,
so she doesn't have to be on top of everything all of the time.
According to Buffy, that's part of what being a Slayer is, but then she
thinks that Riley still has issues with her being stronger than him.
While he admits that's hard sometimes, that's not what this is all
about. Buffy says she gives him her heart and her body and her soul,
and she doesn't know what else she can give. He just doesn't feel it.
Buffy asks, "Whose fault is that?" Riley announces that the military
wants him back, deep undercover, no contact with civilians, and the
transport is leaving tonight. He doesn't know if he's going. If they
can't work this out... Buffy can't believe he's giving her an ultimatum
and becomes angry. Riley challenges her to hit him. When she doesn't,
he says that he's leaving. Unless she gives him a reason to stay, he's
leaving tonight. Buffy leaves the training room.
Buffy is walking along an alley when the vampires from the nest
approach her. Their leader announces that she's not going to shut him
down, and she's not going to make it through the night. Then vampires
surround Buffy.
Buffy warns the vampires to walk away. When they don't, she fights them
all, and handily takes care of all eight of them. The last one is the
woman who was biting Riley. Buffy offers lets her go, but as the
vampire runs away, Buffy javelins her. Xander arrives and asks her if
she needs help. She orders him to go away, but he won't. He says that
she's been acting like a crazy person. She stalks into an empty
warehouse. Buffy again tells him to go away, because he doesn't know
what's going on. When Xander asks, "So you and Riley aren't imploding?"
Buffy is surprised and asks who told him. Xander figured it out. Buffy
tells Xander about the covert operation and Riley's ultimatum. Xander
asks Buffy if she's going to let him go. She says it's not fair, and
Xander says who cares about fair; Riley is going to leave. When Buffy
asks if she should just beg him to stay, Xander asks why wouldn't she?
She says she doesn't know who he is anymore. Xander points out that
Buffy has been treating Riley like the rebound guy, but he's the kind
that comes around once in a lifetime. Riley has never held back with
Buffy, he's risked everything for her, and she's about to let him go
because she doesn't like ultimatums? If he's not the one, Xander
advises, let him go. Break his heart, and make it a clean break. But if
she really thinks she can love this guy, "I'm talking scary, messy, no
emotions barred need" — if she's ready for that, she should think about
what she's about to lose. From the emotions shown on Buffy's face, it's
clear that the message was received. Xander advises her to run.
Riley waits outside a helicopter as its propellers start to rotate.
Buffy runs to reach him. Riley keeps looking around, obviously hoping
she'll show up, but she doesn't. Riley boards the helicopter. Buffy
arrives, at last, just as the helicopter takes off. Riley, resolved,
doesn't look down; doesn't know she's there. She shouts to make herself
heard over the noise, but to no avail. Riley leaves, and Buffy numbly
walks home.
Xander arrives at Anya's apartment, and he tells her in very many words
just how much he loves her because, among a myriad of other reasons,
she makes him feel like a man. She passionately kisses him.
Buffy tries to walk up the stairs to her bedroom, but can only make it
halfway. She sits, forlorn, and thinks of Riley, who is flying away in
the night.
While in bed, Anya and Xander discuss Riley's departure and wonder how
Buffy's dealing with it. Cut to a convent where a vampire attacks a
nun, then Buffy attacks and kills the vampire. After asking the nun if
she's all right, Buffy inquires about the nun lifestyle.
Buffy is training with Giles in her training room behind the Magic Box.
He's going to England to seek the Watchers Council's help in gaining
more information about Glory. He promises Buffy that although he will
tell them Glory is seeking the Key, he will not mention Dawn. Buffy is
adamant about protecting Dawn, even from the Watchers Council. Giles,
now sitting with Buffy, mentions that if the Initiative still existed,
he'd seek their help, but with Riley gone, they don't have any contact
to that former source. Giles then apologizes to Buffy for bringing up
Riley, but she insists that she's dealing, even managing to joke with
Giles a bit.
Upon hearing the news that Giles is going to be gone from the Magic
Box, Anya is ecstatic, especially because she believes she will be in
charge. While Giles realizes that Anya is good with the inventory and
the money, her people skills are less than desirable. Willow offers to
help, but that only makes Anya angry. The two verbally spar, and poor
Xander is literally in the middle of their battle. He changes the
subject by asking Buffy about her slaying. When the Slayer mentions
that after she staked a vampire at a convent last night, a nun let her
try on a wimple, Xander becomes frightened.
On Joyce's bed lies her powder blue bathrobe. She is fully dressed in
actual clothes and a fetching scarf around her head. When Buffy
notices, she calls Dawn to witness their mother's improvement. They
make fun of the fuzzy bathrobe Joyce wore, thus lightening their mom's
spirits. Buffy goes to her bedroom and reads on her bed. Dawn follows.
Dawn notices that Buffy has taken down all of Riley's pictures and
comments that he was gone so fast. Buffy states that everyone else
noticed that he left gradually, and that she hurts. She admits that
she's mad at him, and herself, and she can imagine a lot of ways she
could have prevented it. Dawn lies on the bed with her head in Buffy's
lap and asks if it will get better; Buffy strokes her hair and says it
will soon. Maybe he'll come back, and she can say all the things she
didn't get to say.
In his crypt, Spike is bearing a box of chocolates before the mannequin
he has set up to look like Buffy. He practices an apology to her for
leading her Riley at the vampire den, but then he imagines her giving
him flak for it and he becomes angry and slams the chocolates over the
dummy's head, knocking it to the floor. He picks up the dummy,
straightens her hair, picks up the chocolates, and tries again.
Willow and Tara are gathering items from the shelves of the Magic Box
to perform a spell to create simulated sunlight, which Buffy could use
to fight vamps. Anya tries to assert authority and stop them, claiming
that they're stealing. Willow tempts her by offering to teach her
magick, but Anya declares that as peer pressure. "Any second now you're
gonna make me smoke tobacco and have drugs." Xander enters, and of
course Willow and Anya immediately put him in the center of their
argument. Xander refuses to get in the middle again, and leaves in a
huff. When Tara sees that they're about to put her in the middle, she
also leaves. Willow pours ingredients into a cauldron as Anya tallies
up the cost of the ingredients being used. Willow angrily tells Anya to
stop distracting her. Once the sensitive spell begins, any non-ritual
word can disrupt it. Of course Anya disturbs the spell, and the two
women fight. During their argument, a very large troll is conjured out
of the cauldron. He screams at the frightened girls, destroys some
displays, and stomps out of the shop.
Tara and Buffy collect syllabi from the professor of the class the two
are taking together. Buffy needs to take this course because the
alternative was a course on Central American Geopolitics. If Buffy
hears the word jungle, she thinks of Riley. Tara uses a quote from
Willow to comfort Buffy, who suggests they pick up Willow and go for a
hamburger. Tara states Willow is at the Magic Box, and tells Buffy
about the spat Willow and Anya had that resulted in Xander leaving the
shop. Buffy completely misconstrues the whole leaving part and becomes
hyper-emotional, thinking Xander and Anya are breaking up.
Anya and Willow uses Giles' red convertible to chase after the troll,
who is leaving a distinct trail of destruction to follow. Willow is
desperately searching for a reversal spell as Anya drives. Willow
suggests putting the top back up, but Anya doesn't know how yet — she
just figured out the pedals. That's when Willow realizes that Anya
doesn't know how to drive. The two argue more. Anya goes faster, and
Willow loses some of the pages out of the spell book she is searching.
Xander bumps into Spike at the Bronze. The vampire taunts the human and
realizes that Xander is upset. Spike digs for information on Buffy to
determine if she holds a grudge against him. When Xander demands to
know what Buffy has to do with this, Spike realizes that Buffy is not
mad at him and covers by saying, "I'm sure she's merrily slaying some
pals of mine, having a grand old time."
Buffy and Tara see the mess at the Magic Box and realize that Willow
and Anya are gone. The two rush off after the trail of destruction.
The troll torments some Sunnydale residents until he smells ale and
goes off for a drink.
Spike and Xander are shooting a game of pool together as Xander laments
about Anya and Willow putting him in the middle of their fights. Spike
asks what the Slayer thinks of all this friction in the ranks, then he
goes off on a rant about the Slayer until the troll bumps into him.
Spike begins to pick a fight, but thinks better of it. The troll grabs
and drinks an entire half-barrel of beer and demands stronger ale and
some plump, succulent babies to eat. Xander tries to calm him as Willow
and Anya enter. Anya warns Xander of the troll, and Willow wishes for
Buffy. Buffy enters. Willow wishes for a million dollars, just in case.
Buffy demands to know from where the troll came. Spike sheepishly says
hello to Buffy. Anya interrupts to tell Buffy that Willow released the
troll, but they can stop him if Willow does another spell. When Willow
starts to speak the ritual, the troll interrupts and tells Anya, "You
seem determined to put an end to all my fun, just like you always did
when we were dating." Everyone in the Scooby Gang, except Willow, is
surprised that Anya dated a troll. Anya declares that he wasn't always
a troll — she changed him into one after she caught him cheating on
her. After his transformation, a coven of witches trapped him in a
crystal. The troll declares that all must die and is about to attack.
Buffy orders Willow to do the spell, but when Willow tries, nothing
happens. The troll is amused, and Buffy attacks him. He tosses her with
his hammer, and she falls on Spike, who cops a feel. The troll knocks
down the support beams for the loft, which falls to the main floor.
Buffy is not injured after the loft falls on her, but the troll is
gone. She gets up and gives orders: Xander is to find the troll, and
Willow and Anya are to go the magic shop and find a spell that will
stop the troll. Those who were on the loft when it fell are injured,
and Buffy is surprised to see Spike trying to make one of the victims
comfortable. He asserts that he's only trying to help; he's not
sampling their blood because he knows Buffy wouldn't like it. Buffy is
disgusted that Spike wants credit for not feeding off of bleeding
disaster victims, and Spike is disgusted that he can't satisfy her.
Even though they're trying to work together to find a solution to the
current problem, Anya and Willow still fight. Finally it comes out that
Willow is worried that Anya is going to hurt Xander either by exacting
vengeance on him or in some other way. Anya protests that she would
never hurt Xander, and besides, she doesn't even have those powers now.
Willow is the magical one, as is proven by D'Hoffryn offering her
Anya's old job of being a vengeance demon. Maybe Xander should be
afraid of Willow. Now it's Willow's turn to protest that she would
never hurt Xander, as he's her best friend. Anya brings up Willow
kissing Xander which ultimately led to his break up with Cordelia.
Willow says that won't happen again: "Hello, gay now!" Finally they
both admit that neither one of them is going to hurt Xander. Then Olaf
the Troll bursts in to kill them. Xander rushes in and tries to fight
Olaf to protect Willow and Anya. Although he's no match for the troll,
Xander's willingness to fight impresses the troll, and Olaf offers
Xander a reward: only one of the women will die, and Xander shall be
the one to choose.
Xander, of course, refuses to choose between his girlfriend and his
best friend. After commending Xander's loyalty, Olaf takes him by the
wrist and breaks it. Xander still refuses, and Olaf is about to kill
Xander for his unwillingness to choose. Anya tells Olaf to kill her but
not to harm Xander. Willow tries another spell, but only the cash
register disappears. Buffy and Tara enter, and Buffy fights Olaf. Anya
distracts him while Willow does a spell, which rips the hammer from
Olaf's grasp and sends it flying. Olaf makes a comment about how
difficult Anya is and that her love with Xander will never last. Wrong
thing to say — Buffy pummels him. Anya and Willow tend to Xander
because they both love him, though, as Anya points out, Willow is not
going to break them up because she's gay. Willow then performs a spell
to send Olaf to an alternate universe full of trolls. Buffy is happy
that Olaf is gone, and that she has his nifty hammer, which she sets on
a glass display that shatters under the hammer's weight. Buffy is also
happy that Xander and Anya are still together — so happy that she
starts crying again.
In the dining room of the Summers home, Buffy, Giles, and Joyce discuss
the Watchers Council and their search for information on Glory. Buffy
asks about the Key, wondering if the council knows that it's Dawn.
Giles is concerned about discussing this in front of Joyce, but she
explains that she figured out the basics on her own and that Buffy
filled her in. Dawn comes downstairs and hears their voices; she stops
to listen. The Watchers Council has their theories, but they don't know
about Dawn. Buffy is worried about what they'll do if they figure it
out. Dawn, not knowing everything but aware that something is wrong —
and it involves her — is disturbed.
The Scooby Gang is meeting at the Summers' home. Buffy
apologizes for the mess; Joyce still isn't 100%, and Buffy has been too
busy to pick up the slack (or the living room). As she's clearing
space, Buffy comes across a sweater that used to belong to Riley.
Xander wisely shifts attention to the meeting at hand. Giles announces
that the Watchers Council is coming, but Buffy adamantly doesn't want
them to come. The Council almost killed her twice. Anya is concerned
because they don't sound very ex-demon friendly. Dawn walks down the
stairs, and she hears the group talking. Joyce sees Dawn and tells her
to go to bed. Buffy freaks about Dawn listening, and Dawn insists she
can get a snack. Giles insists that if the Council knows something
about Glory, it may help the gang get a grip on her.
Glory is lying on the floor of her apartment looking terrible. Dreg and
Jinx, another of Dreg's brethren, force a mailman into her room and
help Glory drain his essence. Once she's okay, Jinx informs Glory that
the signs of the alignment are moving faster than expected, and if she
is to use the Key, Glory must act quickly. All Glory needs is the Key,
and the only thing standing in her way is the Slayer.
Giles is giving advice to a customer of the Magic Box when Quentin
Travers enters with his entourage. Giles offers Travers a tour, but
Quentin sits at the large round table as the various members of the
Council's group poke about the shop. They state that most items for
sale are harmless: incense and dime store trinkets. However some items
are potent, even dangerous. The Council orders the "temporary" closing
of the Magic Box. Giles is outraged; Travers intended this to happen
"for the duration of the review." Anya is upset by the disruption in
business until she realizes that the newcomers are from the Watchers
Council. She tries to leave, and when Travers questions her, she starts
in with a story about being from Indiana. Giles excuses Anya and
demands to know about this review. Travers explains that the Council's
resources have yielded information about Glory. However, due to the
sensitive nature of said information, the Council needs to review the
Slayer's methods to insure that she is prepared for it. Giles assures
Travers that Buffy has become quite focused.
Buffy is yawning through class and persistently dropping her pencil,
until she disagrees with the professor on the death of Rasputin. When
she stands to make her points, he belittles her in front of the entire
class.
Later that night, Buffy takes out her frustrations on a vampire. The
vampire gets a lucky hit, and before Buffy can strike again, Spike
jumps in and stakes the vampire. Buffy demands to know why he did that.
He says it wasn't for money, just her heartfelt gratitude. When she is
annoyed rather than grateful, he becomes angry and taunts her about no
one being able to help her. He mentions her ex-boyfriends running off,
and he hits the proverbial nerve.
At the hospital, Jinx asks Ben about the Slayer. After hearing the
description, Ben realizes that Buffy is the Slayer. Jinx relays Glory's
message to Ben demanding help. Ben says he has a message for Glory.
Giles is describing Buffy's hybrid fighting style to the Council
members when the Slayer walks in. Seeing Travers, she tries to slip
out, bemoaning her bad day. Mr. Travers and Ms. Summers greet each
other stiffly. Giles explains that they're staying longer than
anticipated, and the entourage starts describing the review they're
going to conduct: examining her procedures and decisions, observing her
training, and talking with her friends, because she still takes them on
patrol with her. The Council is concerned because Glory is powerful and
dangerous and the information they have is highly sensitive. They need
to make sure Buffy can handle the information. Buffy is reluctant, and
Giles is decidedly pissed off, but Travers threatens her by declaring
that if she doesn't comply, the Council can and will shut down the
Magic Box and have Giles deported.
Jinx timidly enters Glory's apartment and shows her the message from
Ben: his own bruised and battered face. Glory confesses that Ben drives
her insane. She embraces Jinx and tells him he is the only one who
understands, "probably because I haven't sucked your brain out, yet."
Finally Glory admits that she'll just have to find the Slayer herself.
Buffy and Giles realize they are powerless. The Council really can pull
strings and have Giles deported. Buffy worries about passing the
review, especially the questions about her decision-making. Plus, she
still hasn't beaten Glory. Giles goes into father mode and tries to
comfort and encourage Buffy, even though he's humiliated that they're
coercing her with his "bloody green card." The Council certainly knows
where to strike; Buffy admits that she can't lose Giles. She wonders
where they'll begin.
In Xander's apartment, Anya regales a Council representative with a
yarn about her past: born on the fourth of July, etc. Another Council
hack questions Tara and Willow. When he asks about the Slayer, and
them, and their relationship, the two witches first state they are
friends. Then they gather more courage and reveal the true nature of
their relationship: they're lesbian lovers. The Council man states, "I
meant your relationship with the Slayer." Oops. "Just good friends."
Back at his apartment, Xander emphasizes, "best friends." The three of
them have been together from the start: Buffy, Willow, and him. They go
on patrols and help with the research. When the Council man asks if
Xander has mastered any fighting styles, he has to answer no. Yet
Xander punctuates his importance to the Slayer and the group, and he
even mentions he played the role of the heart in a spell to make
super-Buffy. Council man asks if she needs that help often. Flip to
Willow vigorously shaking her head and emphatically answering no. The
scene continues with the Scooby Gang obviously being so uncomfortable
with the fact that the Council is so invasive. The Council even asks
Spike some questions, although he's better at handling them. Despite
the cross and crossbow being aimed at him, he too falls prey to
revealing more than he wants, as they wonder why he would want the
Slayer to cry on his shoulder.
Later, to demonstrate her skills, Buffy is supposed to protect a dummy
set up in the training room, while she is blindfolded, performing
whatever moves Travers commands. He commands moves using their Japanese
names. Giles tries to translate, but that slows Buffy down. Eventually
she does the demonstration her way, but ends up cracking a rib of the
Council member fighting her. The dummy meets a worse fates, as he winds
up with an axe in the head. Flush with failure, Buffy is informed that
the review will continue at 7:00 that evening.
Buffy enters her home to find Glory there waiting for her.
While Glory chatters on about the house, her search for the key, etc.
Buffy tries to grab a fireplace poker for a weapon. Glory cheerfully
disarms her. She's come to talk and make a deal: hand over the Key, or
else. During the exchange, Dawn enters the room behind where Glory is
seated. Buffy tries nonchalantly to tell Dawn to leave, but Glory
senses the teenager and orders her forward. Glory tells Dawn that Buffy
took her Key, and asks if Dawn know where it is. Buffy protests that
Dawn doesn't know anything, but Dawn insists that she knows "some
stuff." Before stamping out of the room, Dawn tells Buffy, "I"m going
to figure it out, you know." Glory threatens to torture and kill all
the Slayer's friends and family and force the Slayer to watch. Glory
leaves. Joyce enters the room, and Buffy orders her to pack a bag.
Spike is stunned awake in his crypt when Buffy opens the door and lets
in the sunlight — and her family. She asks him to protect Dawn and
Joyce. He reluctantly accepts, and he and Joyce sit down to watch
"Passions."
Travers et al are waiting at the Magic Box. The Scooby Gang sits in the
loft and ponders Giles' future if he's deported. Travers points out to
Giles that Buffy is more than twenty minutes late, and counting.
Buffy is rushing to the shop when she is waylaid by three knights in
full chainmail and armed with swords and metal javelins.
The Slayer handily disarms and defuses her attackers. She pulls the
chainmail hood off of one and makes him tell her whom he is. The
Knights of Byzantium are a large order, and are now her enemy because
she protects the Key. They are not allies with the Beast, a.k.a. Glory
— they just want to destroy the Key. If Buffy kills him, legions will
follow. She doesn't kill him, as he is human. Buffy orders him to go,
but keeps his sword.
Buffy dazedly walks into the Magic Box. When Travers points out that
she's late, she says, "Yeah." Buffy lays the sword on the table pointed
directly at Travers, and she informs him that there will be no review,
and no interruptions as she continues to talk. In the last couple of
days, others have gone out of their way to tell Buffy she's
unimportant. She's finally figured out the reason why: power. She has
it; others don't. Buffy talks about Glory's visit, and how civilized it
was, because Buffy has something that Glory needs. Buffy points out
that the Council didn't travel all the way from England to determine if
Buffy was good enough to be let back in; they came to beg the Slayer to
let them back in. When one of the Council members tries to disagree,
Buffy throws the sword at him and narrowly misses him. After all, Buffy
continues, a Watchers Council without a Slayer is pretty much just
watching Masterpiece Theatre. They may have information on Glory, but
they can't act on it without the Slayer. Buffy lists her demands: The
Council will tell her everything they know; then go away. They will
contact her only if they have more information about Glory. The Magic
Box will reopen, and Giles will be reinstated as her official Watcher
with full salary, retroactive from the month he was fired. She will
continue her work with her friends. When one of the Watchers points out
that her friends are civilians, Buffy points out that those "civilians"
are two powerful witches, a thousand year old ex-demon, and a boy who
has clocked more field time than all of the Watchers combined. Buffy
asks "Quentin" for an answer, and he agrees to her terms. Travers asks
Rupert for some of the Scotch hidden behind the incense. Buffy
interrupts, first wanting to know what kind of demon Glory is. "She's
not a demon," Travers says, "She's a god."
The episode begins with a meeting of the Scooby Gang at the
Magic Box. Buffy bemoans that it's her birthday time again. Mom wants
to make a big deal of it, but Buffy has bad luck with birthdays. Willow
tries to encourage Buffy, who claims she's too busy with Glory to
party. Xander is amazed that they're facing a god. Giles offers some of
the information uncovered by the Watchers Council: Glory and two of her
fellow hell-gods ruled over one of the rather nastier dimensions, until
she found a way to our reality. She's immortal, invulnerable, and
insane. She survives by extracting energy from the human brain. Once
drained, all that's left behind is a crazy person. While the Gang
discusses strategy, Xander wisely brings up the Key for which Glory has
been looking. An uncomfortable Giles and Buffy try to dissuade them
from worrying about it, but the Gang is insistent. Finally Buffy and
Giles have to admit they know where the Key is. The Gang is
disappointed that the two didn't let the rest of them in on it. Buffy
agrees, "They're going to be risking their lives. They deserve to
know." She tells them that Dawn is the Key.
The Knights of Byzantium are chanting around a bonfire: "The Key is the
link; the link must be severed; such is the will of god." Jinx appears
with some of his brethren and attack the knights. Just as Jinx is about
to be killed, Glory steps in and fights the knights, killing most, and
capturing one of them.
Tara and Willow are pouring magic sand around the Magic Box when Dawn
walks up and asks them about the spell they are doing. The witches are
setting up an early warning incantation. "If anything hell-goddishly
powerful comes within a hundred feet of the shop, then screechy siren
things will, you know, screech." They've already put one up around the
Summers house. Dawn wants to help, but they all know Buffy wouldn't
like it. Dawn gloomily enters the shop and starts teasing Xander, who,
along with Anya, is uncomfortable around Dawn considering their new
information about her origin. Giles and Buffy come out of the training
room and talk a little with Dawn. During their conversation, Giles
hides his journal in a secret drawer under the cash register. Dawn
notices its disappearance, but not its new location. Dawn teases Buffy
about fighting someone prettier than the Slayer. Buffy asserts that
Glory is evil and powerful and in no way prettier than she is.
Glory is tormenting the Byzantium Knight she captured and now has tied
up in her apartment. Despite the torture, he refuses to give her any
information, so she sucks out his brain energy.
Although Buffy didn't want the birthday party Joyce is hosting at the
Summers' home, she is nonetheless pleased about receiving the presents.
Anya is excited at the suspense and wants the presents for herself.
Buffy opens a pretty dress from Tara and Willow. Then she opens Dawn's
gift: a frame comprised of seashells surrounding a picture of Buffy and
Dawn at the beach in San Diego. It's a very sweet and sentimental gift
that makes everyone think again of Dawn's supernatural origins. Buffy
is impressed, and gives Dawn a thank you hug.
In the kitchen, Buffy, Giles, and Joyce are discussing Glory when Buffy
notices Dawn listening in the dining room. She's just collecting
plates; when she takes them in to the living room, the people in the
room get quiet. Dawn gets angry at everyone for giving her the silent
treatment and goes up to her room. Then she climbs down the trellis to
exit the house. Spike approaches with a box of chocolates for Buffy,
and he startles Dawn. He tries to scare her, but Dawn is not
frightened. Indeed, she teases Spike about bringing a present for
Buffy. She claims to be badder than he is: She's going to break into
the magic shop to steal things. Spike points out the dangers between
the house and the shop, so Dawn asks him to come along and steal stuff
with her. He accepts.
Spike picks the lock, and they enter the shop. Dawn finds the secret
drawer and Giles' journal. As she reads, Spike pokes about the shop and
leaves a used cigarette in an urn. Dawn is confused about the part that
reads, "those outside reality being able to see the Key's true nature."
Spike explains that only those with second sight are able to see it,
along with your run-of-the-mill lunatics. Dawn remembers the crazy
people who have berated her. Spike sits next to her and reads from the
journal that the monks sent the Key to the Slayer in the form of a
sister to insure that the Slayer would protect it with her life. Spike
annoyingly points out to Dawn that she is the Key.
Back at the birthday party, Willow, Tara, and Buffy are discussing the
fact that Riley didn't even send a card due to the communications
blackout. Tara then notices Dawn, who has slit her wrist with a knife.
Dawn demands to know if she's real, if she's more than just a "key."
Party's over.
After Buffy sees her guests to the door, she and Joyce talk with Dawn
in her bedroom. Dawn wants to know why they didn't tell her. (They
thought it would be better if they waited until she was older.) When
did the monks create her? (Six months ago.) She's having an identity
crisis. Even though the two elder Summers try to comfort her, Dawn
kicks them out of her room.
The next day at the Magic Box, Buffy presses Giles for more information
about the Key, not because of Glory, but because Dawn needs to know.
Giles wonders how Dawn found his journals and got into the shop into
the first place. Anya discovers the cigarette in the urn.
Spike is painting his fingernails when Buffy bursts into his crypt. He
tries to banter, but she slams a concrete slab into him, demanding to
know why he helped Dawn find out about being the Key. Does Spike hate
Buffy that much? (If only she knew Spike's true feelings for her!)
Spike points out that Dawn was going to the shop no matter what, and he
thought she'd be safer with "big bad" looking over her shoulder. Dawn
was going to find out anyway. Buffy couldn't keep it away from her
forever. She's just kicking Spike around out of her own frustration.
Dawn is still in her bedroom when Joyce informs her that it's time to
go to school. Dawn is still despondent and doesn't want to go. When
Joyce coddles her daughter, Dawn becomes even more upset and decides to
school to be away from Joyce.
At the hospital, Ben the intern is dispensing medicine in the mental
ward when he sees that one of the patients is a Knight of Byzantium.
Jinx appears, and confirms the arrival of the order and the
consequences for Glory. He threatens Ben on behalf of Glory, but Ben is
unruffled and leaves.
Back in her bedroom, Dawn is looking through her diaries. Downstairs
Joyce and Buffy are discussing her, and she overhears them. Dawn then
trashes her room and tears apart her journals. In the living room,
Joyce and Buffy hear an alarm, and Buffy fears that it's the
Glory-alert spell in action. Joyce recognizes it as a fire alarm. A
fire is burning in the trash can of Dawn's bedroom, which Buffy quickly
puts out with a blanket. Joyce realizes and points out that Dawn has
run away.
Buffy enlists the help of her friends and Spike to look for the runaway
Dawn, who is aimlessly wandering the city.
As Giles and Xander search together, Xander points out all these
memories he has about Dawn, including that Dawn has a crush on him.
Buffy is shouting Dawn's name when Spike berates her, pointing out that
she'll head the other way if she hears Buffy. Buffy admits that he was
right; it is her fault that Dawn took off. Spike reassures Buffy that
she'll find Dawn. "And then what?" Buffy asks.
Dawn sees an ambulance traveling down the street, then sneaks into the
mental ward of the hospital. Amidst whispers of "it's here," she asks
the patients if they know what she is. The Byzantium Knight says, "The
Key. I found the Key. Thank you, thank you." He wants to destroy her,
but he's tied to the bed. Dawn runs out of the ward and almost plows
into Ben the intern. He takes her to the locker room and gives her some
cocoa. Ben is concerned. Is Joyce all right? Can he call anyone for
Dawn? Her sister? Dawn denies having a sister. Ben understands. He has
a sister, too, and she can be a real pain sometimes. Dawn says it's not
Buffy, it's her; she's not real. Ben realizes that Dawn is the Key and
insists she leave. Ben warns, "She's coming. She's here." And then he
morphs into Glory.
Glory changes out of Ben's scrubs into a satin red dress found in his
locker. Dawn is confused about Ben and Glory, and Glory doesn't expect
Dawn to understand the complications of family. Dawn looks to escape,
but Glory threatens her. Dawn is still confused, but realizes that
Glory has no clue about the conversation with Ben, and thus does not
realize that Dawn is the Key. A guard walks in and informs them that
this area is for staff only. Glory effortlessly breaks his neck and
escorts Dawn out to a more private place for a long, uninterrupted chat.
The Scooby Gang converges in a park, but no luck and therefore no Dawn.
Anything could have happened to her. Buffy suggests checking out the
hospital.
In a lab, Glory asks Dawn about the Key, and tries bribing the teenager
with puppy dogs and ice cream to start singing. Dawn turns the tables
and asks for more information about the Key. If Glory could tell more
about it, Dawn would know if she's seen it.
Buffy discovers that Dawn was not brought in to the hospital. When she
overhears that a guard has been killed, and that his head was twisted
almost clean off his body, Buffy deduces that Glory is around.
Dawn keeps asking questions about the Key, and Glory gives answers. The
Key has been around "just this side of forever" and is not evil, but
Glory doesn't tell what the Key unlocks. Glory gets frustrated as she
realizes that Dawn... has no idea where the Key is. She starts to lose
it and is about to suck Dawn's brain when Buffy walks in. A fight
ensues. Spike pitches in to fight Glory and gets knocked out. Willow
and Tara start chanting. Giles tries to shoot a crossbow bolt, but it
just bounces off of Glory. Xander hits her over the head with a
crowbar. She's unfazed and disarms him. Glory throws the crowbar at
Dawn, and Buffy jumps in the way and catches the crowbar in her chest.
Glory says, "Is that the best you little crapnats could muster?" Willow
and Tara throw sand on Glory. Willow claps her hands and shouts,
"Descadae." Glory disappears. Willow collapses.
Glory reappears high over Sunnydale and falls to the ground as she
mutters an obscenity.
Giles is concerned about the powerful teleportation spell the witches
did, and Willow, who is obviously hurting, says, "Won't be trying that
one again soon." Buffy is concerned about Dawn, who thinks that Buffy
doesn't care. But Buffy does care; Dawn is her sister. "No I'm not,"
Dawn says. Buffy shows Dawn the blood the younger girl has in her hand,
and the blood from from Buffy's chest wound. It's Summers blood. Buffy
mixes the two together and insists that Dawn is her sister. The two
hug. Dawn tells Buffy that Ben was here trying to help her. Buffy
reassures her sister that they'll thank him the next time they see him.
Right now they need to get home because Mom is freaking out. Dawn is
concerned that Joyce will be mad about the fire. "I think you have a
sort of get out of jail free card on account of trauma."
The Bronze is reopening after the restoration of the loft area
destroyed by Olaf the Troll. Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya are enjoying
the dance floor while Buffy looks on. Suddenly, Spike — dressed much
nicer than usual — sits down next to the Slayer. He bemoans the higher
prices at the bar due to the restoration, and Buffy suggests he find a
new place to patronize. Although Spike considers the option, he doesn't
take Buffy's hint and makes himself comfortable. Buffy demands to know
why he's sitting with her pretending they're talking-buddies. Spike
says he just wanted to give her some company. When her look informs him
that his company isn't welcome, he gets up, but but then he tries
again. Because he helped her fight Glory, he feels Buffy should cut him
some slack. She's unimpressed. The song being done, the rest of the
Scooby Gang comes back to the table. Xander kicks Spike out of his
chair. Spike reluctantly leaves but makes some sweeping gesture toward
the table. Because it's payday, Xander offers to buy drinks for the
group — until he notices that his change from the last round is missing
from the table. Over at the bar, Xander sees Spike making a purchase.
Willow requests a water because she's still having headaches from the
teleportation spell she and Tara did on Glory. Buffy states that
because this is the first chance they've had for some relaxation, she
would prefer they didn't talk about Glory. Tara agrees, "let's just
refer to her as..." and Buffy shouts out "Ben" because she has just
spotted the hospital intern, and she excuses herself to go talk to him.
Xander is berating Spike for taking his money, but the inert vampire is
distracted by Buffy talking with another guy.
At the Sunnydale Train Station, the porter boards a train to discover
that several people have been murdered. Then he is attacked himself by
an unseen foe.
Buffy arrives home to find Joyce and Dawn watching TV as Giles reads a
book at a desk. They ask if she had fun, and despite Willow's headaches
and Spike's cameo, she did. Dawn is interested in the fact that Spike
was there. Joyce is relieved that Buffy's home, as she didn't feel safe
without the Slayer nearby. Giles raises his eyebrows and Buffy
indicates him to Joyce with her eyes. Joyce tries to cover, but Giles
is not insulted. He knows he's no substitute for the Slayer. As he
leaves, Buffy asks about Dawn. She's doing better. Buffy says they've
been going easy on her, and Giles states the best thing is to behave as
normally as possible. Good. Buffy yells at Dawn for taking her blue
cashmere sweater.
Spike is stroking said sweater in the privacy of his crypt when Harmony
tries to persuade him to go to bed... but not to sleep. Spike isn't
interested, so she suggests playing a game. Harmony is next seen with
her hair long and down like Buffy's. In fact, she's pretending (rather
badly) to be the Slayer and stalking Spike, who grabs her in his arms.
In school the next day, Tara, Willow and Buffy are discussing The
Hunchback of Notre Dame when Buffy notices a newspaper headline: Six
Found Murdered on Train at Sunnydale Station. Because of the neck
traumas reported, the three determine that it was vampires.
Spike is coming out of the tunnels below his crypt when he is surprised
by a visitor: Dawn. He wonders if Buffy knows she's here. Of course
not. Spike tells her to leave, but she wants to stay. The two talk, and
Dawn appreciates that Spike talks to her as a person. She feels safe
with him, she says, which makes Spike cough, "Take that back!" Dawn
tries to placate Spike by saying he's tough. Even Buffy thinks so. The
Slayer's always wondering what she's going to do if Spike ever gets
that chip out of his head. Spike, interested, asks, "What else does
Buffy say about me?"
Buffy announces that she's home, and Joyce asks if Dawn is with her.
Dawn didn't come home from school. Buffy goes off to find her.
Spike is telling Dawn scary stories reminiscent of the style of ghost
stories around a campfire. When Buffy bursts in to ask Spike for help
finding Dawn, the Slayer demands to know what is going on. Spike
immediately changes the story to a happy ending, much to Dawn's
disappointment. Buffy and Dawn leave, and Buffy lectures her younger
sister about how dangerous Spike is. Dawn protests. Buffy realizes that
Dawn has a crush on Spike. Dawn points out that she doesn't have a shot
at Spike because Spike is in love with Buffy. Buffy is baffled.
Xander and Buffy are checking out the murder scene on the train. As
they search for clues, Buffy attempts to ask Xander for advice on
Spike's crush on Buffy. Xander laughs and dismisses the vampire's crush
as entertaining. He asks how Dawn knows about Spike, and Buffy tells
Xander that Dawn has a crush on Spike. He's astounded: Dawn has a crush
on big funny Xander, not Spike! They leave the train because they can't
find any clues. Too bad they didn't look in the luggage rack — they
would have seen a makeshift bed and a porcelain doll.
In the Summers' kitchen, Joyce is telling an anecdote about the gallery
to Dawn and Spike. Buffy enters at the end of it and is annoyed with
Spike's presence. He says he's there on business: he's got a lead on
the vampire who hit the train. He'll show Buffy the warehouse where two
vamps are holed up.
The vampire and the Slayer sit in his car like they're on a stakeout.
Spike reaches into the glove compartment and pulls out a flask. He
drinks and offers it to a grossed out Buffy. "It's bourbon." he says.
She's still grossed out. He puts the flask away. He starts singing a
Ramones tune. As Buffy is about to ask why Spike is doing this, the two
vampires show up. Slayer and assistant enter the warehouse, and the
vamps flee upon seeing who entered their place. Buffy notices that the
two have nested here; they couldn't have attacked the train because the
attacker was a newcomer. Buffy yells at Spike for wasting her time and
walks away. When she approaches the door, Spike holds it open for her.
She demands to know what is going on. Is this a date? Spike tries to
cover, but unsuccessfully. Buffy's disgusted. Spike tries to tell her
that he loves her, but Buffy stops him. She refuses to talk, despite
Spike's imploring.
A dejected Spike returns to crypt and realizes someone is already
there: Drusilla has come to make everything right again.
After a recap of the gossip from LA regarding Angel and Darla, Drusilla
professes that she wants them all to be a family again. Spike doesn't
want to go back to LA; he's been there and done that. He claims he
likes Sunnydale, but Drusilla knows the truth about the chip. She
insists that Spike is really a killer, and no little tinkertoy can stop
him. But the pain is searing, he explains. Drusilla tells him it's all
in his head; the electricity is a lie. Harmony makes her presence known
by yelling and is disgusted to think that Spike has brought in a
Drusilla look-alike for another sex game. Spike informs her this is the
real Drusilla. Harmony gives her an earful until Spike shuts her up by
literally throwing her out.
Buffy is in her living room talking with Joyce and Willow about Spike
and his love obsession. They're worried that he could become dangerous,
but Buffy tries to blow it off. The two advisors want Buffy to make
sure that she's broken him off completely.
Spike and Drusilla go out to the Bronze. They spot a yummy snack in the
loft, and it's not that onion thing that Spike raves about.
Joyce insists that Buffy go now to set Spike straight. Willow offers to
go with her, but Buffy will take care of this herself. However, there
is something that Willow can do for her while Buffy is gone...
Drusilla and Spike approach a couple making out in the loft of the
Bronze. Drusilla snaps the neck of the female and tosses her body to
Spike. She snaps the head of the male and starts drinking. Spike is
reluctant at first, but then he puts on his vamp face and drinks.
Buffy enters Spike's crypt and can't find him, so she goes below to
search the tunnel. She explores and discovers the mannequin and several
pictures and drawings of her. She's astonished and climbs out of the
tunnel, but Spike is at the top of the steps, blood still on his lips.
Drusilla is also there, with a taser, and shocks Buffy into
unconsciousness. Dru suggests tying Buffy up and hands Spike the taser.
He shocks Dru into unconsciousness.
Buffy wakes to discover that she's chained up, but Drusilla is also
restrained. Spike wants to prove his love for Buffy by killing Drusilla
for her. However, that doesn't prove anything to Buffy other than Spike
is a sick, miserable vampire whom she should have dusted a long time
ago. Spike ups the stakes: if Buffy doesn't admit that there is
something between her and Spike, he'll untie Drusilla and let her kill
the Slayer. Buffy tells him the only chance he had with her was when
she was unconscious. He's furious and wonders — loudly — what's wrong
with women. He blames Drusilla for leaving him. He knows his feelings
for Buffy are wrong. During his rant, Harmony enters and shoots a
crossbow bolt at him, but misses his heart. Now it's her turn to rant.
As she reloads the crossbow, Spike attacks and disarms her. During the
fight, Drusilla undoes her bonds, and attacks Buffy, who puts up a
pretty good defense, despite being chained. Spike knocks down Harmony,
then knocks down Drusilla, and unlocks Buffy's chains. Drusilla and
Harmony each get up and leave in turn, giving vocal pot-shots at Spike
as they go. Buffy turns to Spike and punches him so hard that he falls
into his display of Buffy's pictures. He chases after her as she walks
home. As she enters her house, she tells him that she wants him out of
her life. Spike is insistent that she can't shut him out, until he
tries to cross the threshold and can't. He's shocked to discover that
Buffy has had his standing invitation revoked.
